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By Victoria Seabrook, climate reporter at COP28 in Dubai
During those two days of the year you feel like you’re in the middle of the world.
A global herbal in a desperate state.
But at COP’s annual climate conference, one feels like the center of the force to make a difference.
During the first few days, when presidents and prime ministers jet in, you might just run into the Indian leader in the corridor.
Unfortunately, I didn’t need to speak.
The leaders had their day with a “family photo” under the impressive dome of the Expo City convention center in Dubai.
A small organization of bloodhounds was locked in a high-security enclosure to capture them as they passed.
Things unfolded in an eerie calm, while the COP is a noisy bustle of other people coming from roughly two hundred countries. Still, there’s something strangely disappointing when you see that those big names are other people, too.
In some other forums, a stone’s throw from dozens of leaders, including Rishi Sunak, the king, Brazilian president Lula, French president Emmanuel Macron, all at the same time.
“It’s like Davos on steroids,” a former UK cabinet minister here told me, referring to the annual World Economic Forum meeting in January.
Read here:
People who make the rules must abide by them, Matt Hancock has said, as he acknowledged his own infamous lockdown-breaking clinch undermined public confidence in efforts to tackle coronavirus.
As evidence of the COVID-19 investigation, the MP said he did his day-to-day job by resigning as fitness secretary in June 2021 after a leak showed him kissing his assistant Gina Coladangelo, which violated social distancing guidelines.
Mr Hancock, who appeared at the inquiry earlier in the day, also claimed that during the pandemic some local leaders were “not constructive” and “put politics before public health”.
The former Conservative MP, who now holds an independent seat in the House of Commons after squandering the position of party leader for his appearance on ITV’s truth TV show I’m A Celebrity, played a pivotal role in the fitness crisis.
During questioning, inquiry counsel Hugo Keith pointed out Professor Neil Ferguson, whose COVID modelling was instrumental to the UK going into lockdown, had quit as a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) for flouting the rules.
Emphasizing that Mr Hancock had “transgressed” himself, Mr Keith added: “I am sure he recognizes the offense and upheaval caused by this revelation. ”
Asked if he thought such breaches had an effect on “the public’s propensity to follow the rules”, Mr Hancock replied: “Well, what I would say is that the long-term lesson is very clear. “
“And it’s vital that those who make the regulations comply with them, and I resigned to take responsibility for not doing that. “
Read the full recap of Mr Hancock’s testimony to the COVID inquiry here:
At the conclusion of a fast-paced day of climate diplomacy, Rishi Sunak appeared tearful as he took the podium for a final press conference before leaving COP28.
This is surprising.
When you return to London you will have spent more time at its summit than at the summit.
That’s not to say the prime minister hasn’t put in a lot of effort in meetings with the leaders of Egypt, Jordan, Qatar and Israel.
There was also a brief verbal exchange with President Kagame of Rwanda (the UK’s spouse in a questionable and still futile asylum scheme), a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and, perhaps most surprisingly, a brief verbal exchange with Tony Blair.
That conversation with one of his predecessors in Downing Street focused on the Middle East, and a look at the detail of other meetings saw a heavy focus on the Israel-Hamas conflict as well.
At his press conference, Sunak also appeared to harden his language on the issue of a longer-lasting truce and even warned that the UK could simply help bring aid to the Gaza Strip via sea.
But despite the brevity of the debate and the presence of other global issues, the prime minister insisted that his ambition in the fight against climate change remains high.
It’s this question of commitment that’s followed him around Dubai though.
Read Rob’s full here:
The head of Brighton and Hove City Council has warned that the authority is in “financial danger” and will want to cut spending by millions of pounds to balance the books.
Bella Sankey said its budget deficit stands at £31 million for next year as the government’s fall was not enough to cover prices due to inflation, coupled with a growing demand for services.
Ms Sankey said: “The council’s finances are in a perilous situation.
“Surely there was nothing in the autumn to provide relief to this council or local government which has faced a decade of ruthless austerity from central government, nor any genuine monetary help for suffering families.
“Demand for help is increasing, especially in key spaces such as social care for adults, young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and homelessness, putting pressure on other groups. “
The Labour Council leader added: “We are forced to take a look at each of the 400 we supply and begin the incredibly complicated procedure of deciding which ones have priority and which ones don’t.
“To put it bluntly, the less cash we have, the less we can offer. “
The caution comes after Nottingham City Council filed for bankruptcy this week, blaming a lack of government investment and growing demand (read more here).
Ms Sankey said the council is not in this position yet, but is in financial peril and they will “almost certainly have to find millions more savings next year”.
The planned measures are accompanied by a hiring freeze and savings in this year’s budget.
In January this year, Rishi Sunak made five pledges for voters to judge him on.
The prime minister has achieved one of his goals so far: to halve inflation by the end of the year.
One thing to bear in mind is prior to him making the inflation pledge, most economists predicted it would drop to 5% anyway.
Sky News has developed a system to track the government’s progress in meeting those commitments, and you can see the progress for yourself below.
The king wore a tie depicting the Greek flag in his appearance at the COP28 weather summit following a diplomatic dispute over the Elgin Marbles.
The monarch, whose late father Prince Philip was born a prince of Greece, paired the accessory with a handkerchief also in blue and white – the country’s national colours – in Dubai today.
His attire follows a dispute between Rishi Sunak and Athens after the prime minister cancelled a meeting with his Greek counterpart Kyriakos Mitsotakis over the historic marbles, also known as the Parthenon sculptures.
Downing Street said the negotiations had only concluded because the Greeks would not publicly press for the return of antiquities that belonged to the British Museum following Sanchez Mitsotakis’ visit to the UK.
But Greece denied promising not to increase the travel factor.
Mr Sunak did seem to care about the king’s choice of clothing, which can be interpreted simply as an attempt to ease diplomatic tensions.
Read the full story here:
Today is Friday, so sadly there is no Politics Hub with Sophy Ridge. But if you were otherwise engaged, you can catch up on last night’s edition below.
We cover Matt Hancock’s testimony from the COVID investigation, the questionable sale of The Telegraph newspaper, and the death of former Chancellor Lord Alistair Darling at the age of 70.
Sophy was joined by former Downing Street adviser Alastair Campbell and former Scottish Conservative leader Baroness Ruth Davidson to talk about Lord Darling’s life and legacy.
He also spoke to Orit Meir, the mother of 21-year-old Almog Meir-Jan, who was kidnapped by Hamas and filmed in captivity inside Gaza in a video released by the group. Almog was not released until fighting resumed this morning.
Among its panel are Nimco Ali, a former adviser to the Ministry of Interior, and Sonia Sodha, editor-in-chief of The Observer.
Watch the full screen below:
Rishi Sunak has said his “patience is worn thin” by stumbling blocks to his Rwanda asylum plan as he said the government was “finalising” legislation to push through the controversial deal.
The prime minister aims to salvage the scheme by signing a new treaty with the African country and introduce an emergency law to ensure the agreement is legally watertight following the Supreme Court defeat, but this has been delayed.
The government sees the policy, which will send some asylum seekers on a one-way ticket to Rwanda rather than trying to remain in the UK, as key to its efforts to deter small boats crossing the Channel.
Just hours after the Supreme Court declared the allocation illegal on Nov. 15, Downing Street said measures would be introduced in the “coming days” so that deportation flights could take off “as soon as possible. “
The heist drew the ire of right-wing Conservative MPs, further fuelled by the new Home Secretary, James Cleverly, who suggested the plan rather than the “purpose” of the government’s immigration strategy.
But speaking in Dubai about his holiday for the COP28 climate negotiations, Sunak signalled that the law that would pave the way for the asylum scheme was imminent.
Read the Prime Minister’s here:
After the chancellor delivered his autumn statement, the experts on our Data and Forensics team updated our poll tracker with the latest surveys.
The tracker aggregates various surveys to give an indication of how voters feel about different political parties.
Labour has 44. 5 per cent to the Conservatives’ 25. 1 per cent, a lead of around 19 points.
That means the Tories have had a slight bump from the measures announced by Jeremy Hunt – but they remain a long way behind.
In third place are the Liberal Democrats with 10. 8%, followed by the Reformed with around 8. 0% and the Greens with 6. 2%, and the SNP with 3. 3%.
Check out the most recent update below and you can read more about the tracker method here.